Skee-stirrup.



E. P. ASHLEY@` SKEE SIIRRUP.

APPLICATION FILED MAY I4', 1917.

Paten Mar. '19, 1918.

EVEBETT P. ASHLEY, OF WOODSTOCK, VERMONT.

SKEE-STIRRUP.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 19, 1918.

Application led May 14, 1917. Serial No. 168,539.

To all whom 'it 'may concern.'

Be it known that l, EvERETr P. ASHLEY, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of Woodstock, in the county of Windsor and State ofVermont, have invented a new and Improved Skee-Stirrup, of which thefolv lowing is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention has for its object to provide a skee stirrup having twoplates, one adapted to be secured to the heel and the other adapted tobe secured to the toe of a shoe, the plates being connected by a lexiblemember which will permit ofv a limited lateral movement of the heelplate relatively to the toe plate, to relieve the strain on the ankle ofthe user, should he fall. l

Another object of the invention is to provide a skee stirrup which maynot only be adjusted to lit the shoe of the user, but which may also beadjusted to fit the skee which is to be used.

Additional objects of the invention will appear in the followingspecification, in which the preferred form of the invention isdisclosed.

' In the drawings similar reference characters denote similar parts 'inall the views, in which- Figure 1 is a plan view showing a portion of askee to which my skee stirrup is secured;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view off Fig. 1; and 1 Fig. 3 is asectional view on the line 3--3 of Fig. 1. c

By referring to the drawings it will be seen that a plate 5 is providedhaving a bottom portion 6 disposed against the top of a skee 7', therear of this bottom portion 6 being bent over at 8 to form a guideway,the portion 9 of the plate 5 being bent rearwardly over the bottomportion at 10. .Skee clamps 11 are provided for engaging/f the sides ofthe skee 7, the skee clamps 11 being provided with Shanks 12 which aredisposed on the bottom portion 6 of the plate 5, the sides of the shanks12 of the skee clamps 11 being engaged by the points 8 and l() of theplate 5. This construction permits of the lateral adjustmentof the skeeclamps 11 to tit skees of diii'erent widths. Disposed ou the Shanks 12of the skee clamps 11 there are Shanks 13 of toe clamps 14. The Shanks13 are disposed one above the other,

as :illustrated in Fig. 2 of the drawings, and are adjustable laterallyto permit the adjustment of the toe clamps 14 to fit the width of theshoe worn by the person making use of the skee. The Shanks 12 of theskee clamps 11 and the shanks 13 of the toe clamps 14 have transverseslots, the transverse slots in the Shanks of the toe clamps being shownat 15. In the said s'ots 15, and in slots 16 in the Shanks 12 of theskee clamps 11, there are disposed bolts 17, the bolts 17 also beingdisposed through orifices 18 in the bottom portion 6 of the plate 5 andin orifices 19 in the upper portion of the said plate. It will thereforebe seen that when the skee clamps and the toe clamps have been adjustedlaterally as desired, nuts 20 Aon the bolts 17 may be turned home tosecure the skee clamps and the toe clamps in adjustedv position. Inaddition,L the skee clamps 11 have orilices 21 in which a U- bolt 22 isdisposed, the bolts 22 extending through a transverse opening 23 in theskee and being held in place by nuts 24.

The plate 5 serves as a toe plate, a heel plate 25 being provided whichhas a shank 26 in two portions 27 and 28 which are adjustablelongitudinally of the skee, the portion 28 of the shank 26 having alongitudinal slot 29 in which a bolt 30 is disposed, the bolt 30extending through an orifice 31 in the portion 27 of the shank 26. Whenthe heel plate 25 has been moved longitudinally of the skee 7 to thedesired position relatively to the toe plate 5, the portions 27 and 28of the shank 26 are secured together in adjusted position by means ofthe bolt 30 and nut 32. The portion 28 of the shank 26 is connected withthe toe plate 5 by means of a piece of belting 33 which is hinged at 34on a transverse horizontal axis to the toe plate 5. rlhis piece ofbelting 33 permits of a limited lateral or twisting movement of the heelplate 25 and its shank 26 relatively to the toe plate 5. so that shouldthe user fall, which is possible even with experts, there will bepractically no danger of the) ankle of the user becoming twisted as helfalls sidewise, the flexible belting permitting a limited movement ofthe heel plate so that the shock of the fall will not strain the ankle.As.will be seen by referring to Fig. 1 of the4 drawings, the portion 27of the shank 26 has guideways 35 in which the portion 28 of the saidshank is disposed, this construction being employed to increase thestrength of the stirrup. The lateral twisting movement of the flexiblebelting 33 is illustrated by the dotted lines in Fig. 3 of the drawings.

The toe plate and the heel plate 25 are secured to the shoe by means ofstraps 36.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent;

1. In a skee stirrup, a toe plate havingca rear edge; a heel platehaving a front edge; belting connecting the said edges of the toe andheel plates which permits a limited lateral movement of the heel platerelatively to kthe toe plate, and means to secure the toe plate to askee and to a shoe.

2. In a skee stirrup, a toe plate, a heel plate, a flexible membersecured to the heel plate and hinged to the toeplate on a transverseaxis, which permits a limited lateral movement of the heel platerelatively to the toe plate, and means for securing the' toe plate toaskee and the toe plate to a shoe.

3. In a skee stirrup, a toe plate having a rear edge; a heel platehaving a shank in two portions and adjustable longitudinally; the shankhaving a front edge; means to secure the shank portions in an adjustedposition; flexible means connecting the front edge of the `shank withthe rear edge of the toe plate, and means of securing the toe and heelplates to a shoe.

4. In a skee stirrup, a member having a, transverse' guideway, a pair oftoe clamps and a pair of skee clamps adjustablel laterally in theguideway, means to secure the clamps in adjusted position to the member,and means to secure the toe clamps to a shoe.

5. In a skee stirrup, a member having a transverse guideway, a pair oftoe clamps and a pair of skee clampsadjustable laterally in the ideway,means to secure the clamps in adjusted position to the member, means tosecure the toe clamps to a shoe, a heel plate, and a flexible membersecuring the heel plate to the first mentioned member. s

6. In a skee stirrup, a member having a transverse guideway, a pair oftoe clamps and a pair of skee clampsv adjustable laterally in theguideway, means to secure the clamps in adjusted position to the firstmember, means to secure the toe clamps to a shoe, a heel plate having ashank in two portions adjustable longitudinally, means to secure theshank parts in adjusted position, flexible means connecting the shankwith the lirst mentioned member, and means for securing the heel plateto a shoe.

EVERETT P. ASHLEY.

